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Light week of blogging

I’m recovering from a weekend of coaching soccer – seven games in a weekend is exhausting (for coaches and players), as were the emotional ups and downs – winning one game on penalty kicks only to lose the next on penalty kicks.  I’ve rarely been more proud of my team than I was this weekend.  Coaching is a phenomenal commitment – of time, finances and psyche – but the rewards are such that the joy found on and off the field are immeasurable.This week I have several client meetings as well as the normal (typically stressful) preparations for Thanksgiving.  Two interesting stories on foreclosures – Transparent and Moving Past Push PinsThe early halcyon days of Sesame Street – however did that generation recover from the trauma caused by Oscar, who was “irredeemably miserable — hypersensitive, sarcastic, misanthropic.”Revealing Peoples’ Predictability with Google TrendsLocal Search – the arms race defined and exploredMajor in English if you want.I hate when I can’t make time to write.

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Why write for the Bloodhound?

To answer a question I have received a couple of times – Writing at The Bloodhound Blog represents an opportunity to write and speak to a larger audience than I do now.  The audience for, and focus of RealCentralVA is generally contained to the Charlottesville and Central Virginia real estate market.  The Bloodhound Blog is an extraordinarily well-written and read real estate blog with a large national reputation, self described as a “National real estate marketing and technology weblog written by, for and about real estate professionals.”All the arguments about the accuracy of Technorati (a search engine for blogs) aside, the Bloodhound is ranked as one of the “Top 10K” blogs (versus the still-not-too-shabby 45k ranking of RealCentralVA when there are at least 70 million blogs).  It’s also a chance to have my writing and my thoughts critiqued by a much broader audience and hone my thinking, writing and reasoning in the process so as to serve my clients better.

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Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2008

If you’re interested in what’s around the bend in the real estate world, have a look at Gerry Davidson’s three part series on the report.One aspect I found interesting about the report is that when ranking trends on a scale of 1 through 9, 9 was “Excellent” and 1 was “Abysmal” – a pretty powerful and descriptive word.Part 1 – A Dose of FearPart 2 – Best Bets for 2008Part 3 – Markets to WatchMost applicable to the Charlottesville market is the (easy) prediction that the greening of real estate will continue to grow.Thanks for the copy of the report, Gerry!

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A big day

Honored and humbled to be sharing the stage/platform with the rest of the Bloodhound writers.This blog has long focused on the Charlottesville/Central Virginia real estate market, client representation, technology and the implementation of same in the real estate world and local politics that pertain to real estate.I welcome the opportunity to expand my reach further.Hugh Macleod has a pertinent post today in which he states:If I have noticed one thing to happen in the world of work these last twenty years, it is the massive blurring of the lines that separate work you get paid for, and work you do for free.  These days, it’s not uncommon to meet people who work 30-50% of the time for free, especially among the bloggers.I write because I enjoy writing.  Writing provides an outlet and a forum for some of my passions – real estate, politics, education.  What price could one set on fulfillment?I hope to live up to the expectations set upon me by myself, Greg and everybody at Bloodhound.One thing is certain – my writing will, by necessity and fear of failing on a much grander scale, improve.I look forward to the opportunity.

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An offer for politicians who blog in CharlAlbemarle

Of the current candidates and incumbents for Albemarle County’s Board of Supervisors and the Charlottesville City Council, why don’t more blog?In the City, incumbents Dave Norris and David Brown, who is running for re-election, blog.  Candidates Peter Kleeman and Barbara Haskins do, too.In the County of Albemarle, none of the incumbents or candidates blog, and only one of the School Board members does.Brian Wheeler, running for re-election on the School Board, has done more to bring transparency and openness to local politics than almost any other local politician.At the state level, this is one of the blogging leaders.Is anybody missing from this list?Here is an offer to any of the current or prospective members of the local seats – I’ll give you an hour or two of my time to show you how to blog….  It’s neither hard nor intimidating, but it may be new for some and there is a learning curve.The selfish return for you is this – members of the public will read what you write….  Make no mistake – it’s work, but would benefit all of us.Would any of the current or prospective members be willing to take this offer?

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